I totally agree. That is one example with Carlesimo, another is Kurt Rambis. Marc Ivaroni. We could go on and on of assistants getting too much credit. That's not to say that Casey won't be a good coach. But to take the Mavs championship, and place much of the reason upon Casey is foolish. I personally think Frank should be hired due to his decent wealth of experience. He is a great tactician (as he proved against the Raptors many times) and Doc Rivers has raved about him all season long. Either way, we should end up with a good coach. If Triano was more respected around the league I believe he would be in the mix for some head coaching job, but he isn't. No knock on him but I don't think his name means much in the NBA as far as head coaching goes.

Hoping BC goes left field... Get Riley, or something... we fired Try A NO! for Try A No 4.0? Riley (PAt) Adelman ( my original assumption) Phil Jackson... Hell Ill even take acomputer generated Red Aurebach and Bill Russel as our Lead big man coach... Ill Im sayin is we could have left Try A No! if their was no clear head above shoulder candidate for this year.. We woulda kept TAN (Try A No!) struggled one more year and gotten a head above shoulders coach next year... And And Butch Carter was Niice, It was the non basketball extracurricular shit that fucked shit up.. BC go do your job, your the Hefin GM makin the bucks The way ish is breakin down with the draft, coaching, personnell its lookin like the people here at RR could give you a run for your Money, ANd that shit aint FUNNY!

I agree that Casey isn't the reason the Mavs won the championship, but the situation is familiar. Boston won the championship while being praised for their defense. That defensive system was brought to the team through an assistant coach. That assistant coach got a head coaching job, turned his new team into a beast, and won coach of the year. Dallas just won the championship while being praised for their defense that was mostly the brainchild of the assistant coach. I know Toronto isn't Chicago, but we've got nothing to lose and the model seems like a good one to follow. I'm all for giving Casey a shot.

Along that same logic then, why not give Frank credit for keeping Boston as the number one defensive team in the league. You can argue that, had it not been for the Perkins trade, they probably would have at least made the finals.

Some of you guys are putting way too much weight on Dallas winning the Championship and giving credit to Casey. Carlesimo won a Championship as an assistant with the Spurs and I don't see many rushing to hire him as the Raptors head coach. I'm not saying Casey won't be a good coach, but assuming he will be because he was an assistant coach with Dallas is simply wrong.

Um, defending a young LeBron James with a "big" three of James, Hughes and Gooden is a wee bit less challenging then James, Wade and Bosh. No?

CLE that year had the 18th ranked offence. Heat this year? 3rd ranked offence.

Of course, its also tough to determine if a good assistant would be a good head coach (though he did okay with a poor MIN squad).... but you're alternative is?

Along that same logic then, why not give Frank credit for keeping Boston as the number one defensive team in the league. You can argue that, had it not been for the Perkins trade, they probably would have at least made the finals.

I have to question how much of an affect Frank had on the Boston D. Keep in mind the core was there when Thibodeau was and is a veteran team. I'm pretty sure Frank wasn't implementing new systems to KG, Rondo, Allen, Pierce and the O'Neal's. Boston is a veteran team that knows how to play the right way on both ends of the court.

The other advantage of bringing in Casey is his knowledge of Cuban's analytics investments. Many were shocked DAL played so well despite really only having one "star". Perhaps intangibles, other measures of value, and putting together complementary role players has a part in their success.

Gotta say, I'm a bit surprised at what people are focusing on with this coaching search. Forget whether the coach is defensive-minded or not, can he develop youth? I'd argue that's the single most important requirement the Raps should have for the moment. The thing is, you bring in a coach like Casey with a sophisticated defensive scheme that's built for veterans and the younger guys will probably struggle with it. Plus, he's dealing with Bargnani, who is the anti-Chandler. Then how will Casey react to that frustration? Now Casey might be great with player development, I don't know. I'm just saying that teaching defense is going to be as important as game-planning it.

I have to question how much of an affect Frank had on the Boston D. Keep in mind the core was there when Thibodeau was and is a veteran team. I'm pretty sure Frank wasn't implementing new systems to KG, Rondo, Allen, Pierce and the O'Neal's. Boston is a veteran team that knows how to play the right way on both ends of the court.

Though Boston may be made of a bunch of veterans who knew the system, it takes a good coach to motivate a bunch of veterans to commit and play hard. I think his experience with a championship calibre team and coach can only help the Raptors organization. This alongside his own head coaching experience of almost seven years, he is a pretty good choice.

Um, defending a young LeBron James with a "big" three of James, Hughes and Gooden is a wee bit less challenging then James, Wade and Bosh. No?

CLE that year had the 18th ranked offence. Heat this year? 3rd ranked offence.

Of course, its also tough to determine if a good assistant would be a good head coach (though he did okay with a poor MIN squad).... but you're alternative is?

I'm not saying that Casey's accomplishments are moot, but there are some who seem to be giving credit for the Championship to Casey, when that's obviously not true. And even if he was a big factor, it doesn't necessarily mean he'd make a good head coach. Again, I'm not saying he's not a good coach, but I think people are putting far too much weight on one successful playoff run.

As to how to determine whether he'd make a good head coach? I really don't know, but I think probably a lot more research than watching him sit on the bench on television.

Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Dwane Casey has emerged as the clear favorite to land the Toronto Raptors' coaching job and could be installed as the team's new coach by next week, according to sources close to the situation. The Raptors began the week having narrowed their search for a successor to Jay Triano down to the former Minnesota Timberwolves coach and Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank. But Toronto has since zeroed in on Casey after interviews with both men this week, drawn largely to Casey's success as the defensive coordinator for a Mavericks team that just won the first championship in franchise history.

Chandler as a free agent would be a great target, assuming his asking price isnt through the roof.

I can see the sales pitch now. Sure, you won a Championship with Dallas, but why not ignore all the other offers you will have, including re-signing with Dallas, to come to the winters in Toronto to join a 22 win team who just grabbed the 5th pick in a weak draft! Oh, and we've got your old assistant coach, so that sure be the clincher!

I can see the sales pitch now. Sure, you won a Championship with Dallas, but why not ignore all the other offers you will have, including re-signing with Dallas, to come to the winters in Toronto to join a 22 win team who just grabbed the 5th pick in a weak draft! Oh, and we've got your old assistant coach, so that sure be the clincher!

The thing is, if you throw, say $12 million at Chandler and he accepts, what next? He's not a good enough player to make a huge difference in the win column, or is everyone conveniently forgetting his days in Charlotte and New Orleans? Best case scenario, he gives the Raptors maybe 5-7 more wins. Add those to the maybe 5 wins the Raptors might improve just because of player development and a new coach. That gives the Raptors somewhere in the area of 35 wins. Great. So they've got a 29 year old center with a history of injuries being vastly overpaid, and the rest of the club a good 2 or 3 years away from really hitting their prime, and you probably don't even make the playoffs. Then DeRozan's contract needs to be extended, then Davis', and then whoever they draft next and the Raptors are paying out the nose for a mediocre team. Probably not the best idea.